


"I'm not a rabbit, I'm a bunny"

by shinobipopcorn



Category: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Genre: Ganlink Week, Gen, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3892123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinobipopcorn/pseuds/shinobipopcorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt for ganlink week, "Unknown and Familiar": Ganon finds a curious creature in the dark world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wrote this with no gender pronouns, so people can imagine the characters however they see fit. That changes a bit starting in later chapters, but I'm going to leave the first chapter as is. Enjoy!

I sat in my pyramid, thinking. Agahnim was able to break the Wise Men's seal and open the portal between worlds, but things are not going as I had planned. Some little whelp was chasing after him and trying to free the girls. I will not stand for this!

I decided it best to investigate things on my own. While I trust Agahnim completely, he is only human. Goddesses know what little whelps with courage are capable of, and though I have the entire Golden Power, the blood of the Hero is strong.

I first visited the Village of Outcasts, looking for word of any suspicious characters. My subordinate Blind had custody of his crystal and had succeeded in capturing one of the blacksmiths, hindering the whelp's progress. None of the other thieves had any information, so I proceeded south. A sweep of the swamp and Dark Palace produced similar results.

On my way back to the pyramid, I came across something rather peculiar- a pink rabbit was huddled under a tree, crying its eyes out. When it caught sight of me it screamed, and dove into the grass.

"P-please d-don't h...hurt me!" It was clear the rabbit was just some kid who had wandered into the realm, probably after looking for the Golden Power. Such fools, children are.

"What did you hope to prove, coming here? You will never find it, none of you ever have and ever will. You will only get yourself killed."

"F-find what? I... I didn't want this..." it sniffed, trying to rub the snot from its face and clearly failing. "I miss my uncle..."

I considered what the Essence told me when I first claimed the Golden Power, that the shape one took in this realm reflected their inner self. This little one had sparkling blue eyes full of wonder, not greed. I will kick myself for it always, but I must send the child home.

"Rabbit, get up. You do not belong in a place such as this."

"Sniff... I'm not a rabbit, I'm a bunny. Bunnies have floppy ears like this," it said, pulling on its pink dangly ears. It then stared at me, suddenly no longer afraid. "You're like a piggy, I guess. But you have floppy doggy ears. Why do we turn into animals here?"

What a strange creature. "Not everyone becomes an animal. You become on the outside what your heart reflects on the inside. Enough chatter. You need to go home before something happens to you. In this realm, purity is always stamped out."

"If I'm a bunny on the outside, that means I was nice on the inside? What about you? Why are you a piggy? Were you greedy? Did you make a mess of yourself? My uncle always told me I'd turn our house into a barnyard if I didn't clean up my toys and clothes when I was done..."

I was about to explode into a rant about foolishness, when I spotted a blue handle sticking out of the kid's belt. "Is that a mirror in your pocket?"

The "bunny" frowned and pulled it out. "It _was_ a mirror, but it got broke. It was a present, too..." The poor thing looked on the verge of fresh tears.

"Give me that." I took the broken handle, said a few words, and gave it back. "Now use it to go home before _I_ become the one to hurt you."

"Yay! Thank you, Master Piggy!" The kid hopped up and kissed my cheek in gratitude, startling me. As I watched the child dissolve back into Hyrule, I noticed something. That child was wearing a green tunic.

The same tunic those little whelps always wear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I am female and have a huge crush on Ganondorf, I tend to imagine myself in Link's place. Hence all the genderswaps I write. But this one I originally had canon Link in mind, though I made his mental age a little closer to his physical age. You can't tell me that poor boy wasn't freaked the hell out when first warped to the Dark World.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the note on the last chapter said I wrote this without any genders in mind, but I decided to change that a little. See ending note after reading! ;)

I knew I'd kick myself for letting the bunny go home. Not three days later, Agahnim sent me a message that the whelp in green that was chasing after him was close to the Dark Palace. I figured it was time to do my own work.

I arrived at the palace and searched for the whelp. Did they find some way to keep their form? There were several holes blown in the walls and floor that I didn't remember being there, not to mention the lack of monsters...

I searched the upper floors to no avail, and made my way to the basement. I followed the lit torches and dislodged blocks to the giant helmasaur's lair, and found nothing but shattered stone and a few scales. No trace of the crystal the creature was guarding.

Back outside, I made a beeline toward the swamp. I wasn't surprised as I should have been when I saw the purple posts crushed on the bridge, but it did shock the hell out of me when I saw something passed out on the road in front of the bomb shop. It was the little bunny.

"Hey, I thought I sent you back to the Light World," I grumbled as I picked the thing up. The first thing I noticed was a series of slashes along its back, and it was still bleeding in my arms. I felt around for the crystal, but it had nothing on its person, not even the mirror I had repaired.

"...I suppose if I left you to die, my problems would solve themselves," I mumbled, but as I looked at the poor thing, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I pressed my hand over the slashes and carried it back to my pyramid.

Its little green tunic was shredded, so I peeled it away. Yet another surprise, I discovered the bunny was female. Hmm, Agahnim had said a young man was chasing after him... Perhaps I was mistaken when I thought this bunny was the hero? Either way, I need to find out what happened and why she has returned.

I healed the creature and left her to rest, while I contemplated my next steps. Agahnim reported that he hasn't seen any trace of the hero, and that the remaining six crystals are still in place. I don't like the idea of that whelp running around out there. Maybe if I add some additional traps to the swamp, or call more troops to guard the Village...

"Um..."

A tug on my sleeve, and there at my feet was the little bunny. "Wha... what are you doing awake?!" She looked so sad, and I was certain that her skin beneath the fur was pale from blood loss.

"Did you save me, Master Piggy? Thank you..."

I sighed and picked her up, then carried her back to bed. "You were near death. Had I not come along, you would have perished. I sent you back to avoid such a thing, so tell me why you have returned."

She wiggled in her bed, as if she didn't want to answer. When I asked her again, she mumbled, "the elder told me to."

"Speak up?"

"THE. ELDER. TOLD. ME. TO," she yelled, tears welling in her eyes. "I wanted to stay home! I don't even know the Princess, why do I have to rescue her? The hopping statues and the three worms and the giant caterpillar were hard enough, then that bad man in the green robe kept zapping me! I got sent here, and you were nice to me-thank you by the way-but when I finally get home, he tells me I have to come back with that pink moon ball and save all the girls! I got hurt trying to save the first one, and escaped with the crystal, but on my way home to rest someone snuck up behind me and stole everything I had! I turned into a bunny, they hit me, and left me to die in the dirt! Why me? Why do they torture me?!" She was crying so hard her shoulders were shaking, causing her wounds to stretch and make her cry even louder.

I wrapped her in a blanket and pulled her to my chest, trying to comfort her. "Shh... crying will only make it hurt more." I rubbed her back as I processed her words. Agahnim told me about the little boy that defeated him, and how he drew him here as a last resort. Drew him to the Dark World...

Then it hit me- in this realm, one becomes what they are inside. I am a brute, so I take on the shape of a monster. She is loving and soft, and takes the shape of a kind creature.

A creature whose body matches her identity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had an idea that the magic of the Dark World would not discriminate, and that you really would become what your heart reflected, including gender.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember this story? So sorry I haven't updated in forever... orz I was kind of motivated to update because the new Breath of the Wild Link looks like a trans character. And I'm totally headcanoning that she is this Link grown up. It could work, especially since people have been theorizing that BotW is on the LTTP timeline... XD

I sighed as I processed my newfound revelation. The little one crying in my arms was the very same one who had been sent by the elder to thwart my plans. It would be so easy to snap her neck and throw her body into the swamp...

"Master Piggy?"

"Hmm?" Stirred from my thoughts, I looked down into the bluest eyes I have ever seen.

"What's gonna happen if I don't save the Princess? What if I just go hide and never come back out ever again?"

I raised my eyebrow at the question, and debated whether to answer truthfully or to feed her what she wanted to hear. The way the tears continued to roll down her face forced my hand. "...The situation will not resolve itself should you choose to run and hide. Your elder Sahasrahla, he can speak to you telepathically, can he not? He will certainly pester you until you return to your quest."

"But what will happen if I fail my quest?" The little bunny curled in my lap, whimpering. "All my things were stolen- the pendants, the fancy sword, and the pink moon ball. Even if I get them back, I almost died fighting that giant masked hamster. I can't fight six more demons. I can't...!"

"No, you can't," I admitted. "Helmasaur was one of the moderate challenges, predictable patterns but no ranged weaknesses. Arrghus should pose no threat to you. Mothula and Kholdstare will wear you thin before you even reach them, and you will need to be well versed in your magic skills for the latter."

"Magic?"

"I can only imagine what Blind has in store for a child such as yourself, that is if you can even stand to enter the Village of Outcasts. The horrifying Vitreous guards the crystal in the Misery Mire, but then again you can't reach it from the Dark World. Lastly, Zelda is hidden in Turtle Rock and guarded by the three headed demon Trinexx. Again, you will need to be caught up on your magic to save her. After this, I assume you'll need to confront whoever imprisoned the girls, then?"

My leporine companion went rigid, then started screaming as though she were being strangled. "Hey, hey! Calm down!"

"NO! NO ONE TOLD ME THIS! WHY DO THE GODDESSES HATE ME?!" She tugged at my shirt and buried her snotty and teary face, wailing with pain. "First they give me the wrong body, then they take my parents away, now they make me do this! I don't WANNA!"

I'm conflicted about how to respond to this. I'm holding her and soothing her as best I can, but it's obvious she hasn't put two and two together about who I am yet. Clearly it would be best for me to tell her to give in and stop fighting for Zelda, but is that what's best for her? Furthermore, why the hell do I care? I should just send her away and be done with it! Though, if she goes back to Hyrule, she'll be ridiculed not only for failing her duty as a hero, but quite possibly for her identity as well. ...That's not right.

"Little one, do you feel comfortable here? If you stop your quest, and let the bad ones continue, your world could become like this one." This might be the easiest way to proceed.

"...It's really scary here," she mumbled, curling tighter against me until her wounds began to bother her.

"You're right, this is no place for a little girl such as yourself."

The bunny looked up at me, and as faint as a whisper, mumbled, "did you say girl?"

"Are you not a girl?" I teased, though from her stare she didn't find me amusing. "...Remember how I told you that this world changes you to what's on the inside?"

...Another blank stare.

"Sigh. How old are you?"

"Ten and a half."

What?! Sahasrahla is out of his mind! Sending someone so young... I shook my head. "Kid, look down your drawers. Go on."

She stared at me funny for a while, but eventually sat up and pulled up her nightshirt. As soon as she looked down her underwear, she yelped. "W-what?! Where'd it go?!"

"You never 'had it' to begin with, little bunny," I chuckled. "You were probably too preoccupied to notice, but whenever you shifted into the rabbit form-"

" _Bunny_."

"Whenever you shifted into _bunny_ form," I irritatedly continued, "you were given the body of a girl. That's because you are a girl on the inside. It doesn't matter that you have the body of a boy, the Goddesses recognize you as female."

She smiled a bit, before asking, "but why did they give me a boy's body, then?"

"...Mistakes happen. There are ways around it. Now enough excitement for one day, back to bed. We can discuss this again tomorrow." I scooped up the little bunny and plopped her back on the mattress, hoping she would fall asleep quickly. I needed more time to think.

"Master Piggy?" I turned around to find her grinning at me from under the blanket. "You're really smart. I'm glad you saved me."

"Go to bed, bunny. You can thank me when you're all healed up."

The little bunny nodded, then wormed her way into the blanket and closed her eyes. I stayed nearby to make sure she was sleeping, then went to my desk to figure out a course of action. I know I'm evil, but there's no way I'm evil enough to hurt that little cherub.


	4. Chapter 4

I spent most of the night trying to come up with a plan, but failed. Either I send her back and hurt her, or I keep doing what I'm doing and hurt her world. Putting it out of my mind for the time being, I came back into the room and found the little bunny awake, sitting up on the bed and lovingly stroking the long hair that fell down past her shoulder blades.

"You just noticed that?"

"I always wanted long hair, but Uncle said I had to keep it short and neat," she mumbled. "...Boys don't have long hair."

"Nonsense, I had long hair when I was hu..." I stopped midsentence and looked at myself. "... _Younger_. When I was younger."

The little bunny's eyes lit up, and she crawled forward on the bed. "You did?! A boy with long hair! No one made fun of you?"

Made fun of me?! "Of course not," I growled. "The Gerudo have always prided themselves on their beautiful red hair, any one of us is free to wear it as we wish."

"Red hair!" I could swear her eyes went wider. "My hair's pale pink, but I've only ever seen real red hair on that one thief in the forest... And what's a Gerudo?"

These Hyruleans don't know their history... Looks like I'm going to have to educate her. "You've heard of the Hylians, haven't you?" I asked as I pulled a chair over and sat down. "Your ancestors?"

"A little... The kindly sage at the Sanctuary used to tell me stories, about the long eared people who lived in Hyrule many centuries ago," she answered. "He said that through their long pointed ears they could hear the whispers of the Goddesses, and that their language and writing was far different from ours. It's what I had to get the Book of Mudora for."

"Right. Well, little hero, those 'ancient Hylians' were not the only people to have inhabited this land. Hyrule is, or rather was," I corrected, realizing what time period I'm talking about, "a land of six nations. The Hylians are only the first nation. You may recognize a second nation... Tell me, have you ever visited the source of the river in your homeland?"

"Yeah, I have, but there's no one..." The little bunny gasped, and bounced on the mattress. "King Zora!"

I nodded. "Yes, the Zora were once proud citizens of Hyrule. These days, they've mostly lost their senses and become mindless pests, but in the past they were great allies to your king. One of them was even part of the Seven Wise Men."

"A _fish_?"

The little bunny curled her nose, making me laugh. "Well, the hero is a _bunny_ , after all." That got a little giggle out of her. Such a cute little thing... _I must stop thinking this way!_ "Anyway, Hylians and Zora aside, there were also the Gorons of Death Mountain, the Kokiri of the forest, the Sheikah of the mountains and plains, and last but certainly not least, the Gerudo of the desert. Each race represented Hyrule via the Seven Wise Men, with the Hylian Royal Family's heir providing the seventh."

"So the Gerudo come from the desert?" Little bunny drew circles in her blanket, before looking back up at me and tilting her head. "There's not very much in the desert, how did you survive?"

"We tried, but eventually as time went on, we were assimilated just like everyone else," I answered with a sigh, before discovering that she had no idea what 'assimilated' meant. "That means that over time, the different nations mixed together until there was only one nation left. That's why you're all called 'Hyruleans' instead."

As I rose from my chair and headed for my pantry stash for a cup of tea, I suddenly had a pink shadow. "Um, well if everyone mixed together, how come all the girls that got stolen are all pointy eared? Shouldn't they be a mix of everyone? Or one of each?"

"Hey, I don't know the particulars of intergenerational crossbreeding, kid, and even if I did, it's not appropriate conversation for a ten year old!" This is ridiculous. I was trying to teach her about Gerudo, not Hylians. "Gerudo, I'm teaching you about _Gerudo_."

"...Can I have some?"

"What?" I looked down to see her pointing at my cupboard, and here she spied the bag of tea biscuits I had Agahnim fetch for me. After a long groan, I was forced to surrender them in return for a happy cheer from the bunny.

"The Gerudo were the people who built the shrines in the desert," I continued, trying to hide the smile that crept up my face due to the little snacking bunny. "We were called thieves, and we did steal, but there was so much more to our people than that. Now we're just a fragment of history, and we probably don't even have a page in your fancy book."

I think she responded with, "dunno, book stolen," but I could be mistaken. She apparently was never told not to talk with her mouth full, that or she was extremely hungry and didn't care. But now that I think about it, she hasn't eaten anything for the day that she's been in my care, and who knows how long before that.

It looks like I'll be having a guest for breakfast this morning...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To give you an idea what Link looks like, she does NOT look like Lola Bunny. She's ten. Just take the Bunny Link sprite and give her some hair that falls just past her shoulder blades. Her floppy ears can poke out through just fine. She still has pink hair, even in the Light World. I grew up with the 1992 version of LTTP, so that's the one I'm using for the story (hence Wise Men instead of Sages).


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reviewer on ffnet suggested Ganon should change now that he is being nice. That's a good idea, but I have something in mind for our little piggy that's a little different. The Goddesses are watching...

"Do you have any toys?"

I looked up from my steak and tea, over to the giant pile of crackers and biscuits that had been reduced to crumbs (any meat I offered was out of the question because "it could have been a people"), and found the little bunny scratching her ear with her foot. "...Did you just ask me for-"

"Toys. You know, dollies, blocks, coloring books?"

"What in the name of the Goddess would I have toys for?!"

She started giggling. "To play with, silly. My back doesn't hurt as much so I want to go play."

This kid is supposed to be the hero who will save Hyrule from my wrath, a proud warrior descended from the grand Knights of Hyrule, and instead she wants to sit around and play? "...Child, I do not have any toys. I am not a jovial man, do you understand?"

"Does that mean you don't want to go play?" Bunny started pouting, her ears even fell down mimicking her emotions. "Why not?"

"I'm a bad guy, I don't play," I grumbled. "Besides, when you get better, you should really start training so we can go find whoever stole your things and get you back home."

"...no."

"What did you say?"

"No!" The bunny started sniffling, cueing me in for a repeat of our earlier conversation. "I don't care if Hyrule gets taken over anymore. I don't wanna die! I'm fine with being a bunny, and as long as I hide in here no one will get me. You saw what they did to me, I can't go back out there again. You know what will happen! Besides, you're not a bad guy..."

She hopped over and crawled into my lap, startling me as she wrapped her arms around my belly for a hug. This isn't good... I better clarify the situation before it really escalates. "Bunny, what's your name?"

"Link."

_Link?!_ The same name as the hero of old? Din's Fire, how could I not have realized! Sighing, I pried her away and held her at arm's length. "Link, listen to me. You know how the wizard Agahnim was kidnapping the girls, in order to break the seal on the Dark World?"

"I think that's what the elder said..."

"He was doing it so that his master could escape the Dark World and come to Hyrule. And do you know who his master is?" I waited for her to answer, but she only shook her head in the negative. "...His master's name is Ganondorf, king of the Gerudo."

"Ger...udo?" She bit her lip, and began to pout. "Didn't you say you were a Gerudo?"

"Yes, and the Gerudo are a special race. The entire tribe is made up of women, with only a single male born every hundred years. When that male is born, he becomes their king."

Link's beautiful blue eyes began to water, and she quickly looked away so I wouldn't see her crying. After a few minutes, she faintly began mumbling. "...Princess Zelda said the seal that Agahnim was trying to break was from some war hundreds of years ago, where a bad man snuck into the Golden Land and took the Triforce for himself."

"Yeah, being stuck here for hundreds of years isn't exactly fun," I joked, trying to get her spirits up. She looked back at me in confusion at first, but then jumped off my lap and ran scared back to her bed. I don't blame her, after all it _is_ my fault she's in her predicament. But she should try seeing it from my angle for once! I finally succeed in getting the Golden Power, and I'm stuck ruling a world of outcasts and miscreants.

"Link..."

"Hic... why do you have to be bad, too?" I could just barely hear her as she buried her head in the pillow. "The Goddesses hate me... Mom and Dad are gone, Uncle's gone, nobody likes me because of Their mistake, and now my only friend is the enemy. Why? I was almost..."

"Almost what?"

She looked up at me, the fur on her face covered with snot and tears. "...Almost happy."

...Great. I told myself I wouldn't hurt this little girl, and now I've gone and broken her spirit. If only there was something I could do to cheer her up...

Wait a minute, perhaps there is something I can do. I left the little bunny on her bed and went to my study, emptying out a small oblong wallet onto the desk. I took an old pillow and ripped it open, taking out the filling and stuffing as much as I could into the wallet. I then took some red laces from my armor and tied the bag shut several times, using the extra to hang down and make 'hair'. It looked ridiculous, but it would have to do.

I came back in the room and presented my hasty creation to Link. "Here."

She lifted her head from the pillow and looked at me for a second, before slowly reaching out and taking it. "What... what is it?"

"You wanted a toy, didn't you? I tried to make you a doll."

Link smiled at the doll, then looked up at me. "She needs a face," she mumbled, taking the tie that was in her hair and wrapping it around the top portion of the body to make a head. "Do you have a pencil?" I gave her the charcoal I had, and she proceeded to draw a pair of eyes and a nose on the doll. "There, all better."

It was the strangest doll I'd ever seen, but she immediately took to it with glee. I watched as she pretended to comb its hair with her fingers, cradled it, and even kissed its 'forehead'. I left her to play with the little doll, which I heard her calling 'Lulu', and went about my day.

* * *

"...I'm going to go out for a while," I said to the little bunny later, as I watched her curl under the bed covers with her little doll. She poked her head out at me and pouted, so I came over and sat down beside the bed. "Do not be afraid, you are completely safe here. No one would dare encroach upon my keep, after all the creatures out there are terrified of what I might do to them should they disobey me. I am the de facto leader of this world, after all."

"W-why do you have to leave?" she mumbled, my sharp hearing detecting a refreshed sense of fright in her tone from that little boast just now. I probably destroyed whatever renewed rapport the doll had built back up.

"For starters, you ate all the crackers and I have nothing left to feed you." That got a smile. "But also, I need to fetch a few other things. Be a good little bunny for me and stay in bed, and I'll try to be back by breakfast time."

"...Can you bring some medicine, too?"

Alarmed, I attempted to feel her temperature. She felt pretty warm, then again I wasn't sure what was normal for a child let alone a rabbit. They never did have me caring for any young back in the Valley. "Are you still in pain?"

She looked as if she was going to fall asleep for a second, but then turned my way and said, "My back doesn't hurt that much, but my head kinda hurts and I was feeling dizzy today."

It must be residual effects from all the bleeding. "I'll try to find some blue potion, then. Red is good for healing the types of injuries you've sustained, but blue is a little more potent and restores magical essence along with physical. You just get some rest." ...It was mushy of me, but for extra emphasis, I leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before leaving the room. When I reached the door and turned back, she was snuggled under the blanket and grinning to that doll. Yeesh. I can't let anyone know how soft I've become.


End file.
